Tricks of the Trade, Rewritten
by sprinter1988
Summary: Ash was once offered a trade for his Tauros which he refused. However, he owns thirty of the things. What happens when he trades away his twenty-nine extras? A rewrite of EP146: Tricks of the Trade.
1. Chapter 1

**Tricks of the Trade – Rewritten**

_Plot: In the Johto Series episode "Tricks of the Trade" three trainers offer to trade their Pokémon for Ash's Tauros (he's offered a Rhyhorn, an Onix and a Nidoqueen). Ash declines, but what if he remembered that he has twenty-nine other Tauros that he never uses?_

/\/\/\/\/\

Ash, Misty and Brock walked through the street, taking in the sights and sounds of the Pokémon Swap Meet. Here, there and everywhere Pokémon trainers and breeders were bragging about the finer points of their Pokémon; how a Scizor's metallic armour shone, how much energy a Sentret had, how beautiful a Bellossom's petals smelt, all in an attempt to get someone to Pokémon with them.

"There sure is a lot of bragging going on." observed Misty.

"Of course there is," replied Brock "These people have put a lot of effort into raising their Pokémon, so they have every reason to brag."

"Hey, Ash, there you are." shouted a voice, causing the trio to turn.

Three male trainers came running up to them, each holding a pokéball.

"Ash, you're Tauros was great, I'll trade you my Nidoqueen for it." said the first trainer.

"I'll trade you my Onix." said the second.

"How about my Rhyhorn?" offered the third.

Ash backed up and held out his hand in a placating manner "Hang on guys; I could never trade away my Tauros."

At this point Misty decided to interject "Um, Ash, don't you own thirty Tauros?"

"Yeah, and you only ever use the one," added Brock "Why not trade them for some other Pokémon?"

Ash thought about this. He rarely used his Tauros, and even when he did, he only used the leader of the herd. Should he trade the others away? When he had accidentally caught so many Tauros, one of the Pokémon he had been after was a Rhyhorn, after all.

He thought back to the night before his adventure began, back when he had watched two trainers battle on the television, one using a Nidorino and an Onix to battle another's Gengar. Had he not then vowed to become one of the world's best Pokémon trainers? Had he not declared to himself that he would capture as many Pokémon as he could and train them all to be the best they could be? He hadn't done very well on that score; of the two hundred and fifty one Pokémon currently known, he had only ever owned twenty-two kinds, and that was counting ones that had evolved under his care.

Given how he never used twenty-nine of his Tauros, perhaps he really should trade them to other trainers in exchange for new Pokémon, and Nidoqueen, Onix and Rhyhorn sounded like a good place to start.

He turned back to the three trainers, who were eagerly awaiting his decision.

"Well, I don't want to trade my main Tauros," Ash said in an amendment of his earlier statement "But I've got twenty-nine others, all from the same herd and all just as strong, if you're interested."

The three trainers looked at each other, nodded and then turned back to Ash.

"Deal." they said as one.

The group headed over to the Pokémon centre where Ash contacted Professor Oak and explained the situation to him.

Oak nodded "Sounds like a smart move, Ash. Many trainers trade their Pokémon for others as it's an effective way to gain new Pokémon, as well as make friends with other trainers. Send me three of your Pokémon, and I'll send over three of your Tauros."

Ash nodded and took three pokéballs off of his belt "Okay, I'm sending over Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Tauros."

Within moments, all three pokéballs had been transferred through the teleporter, and Professor Oak picked them up on his end before sending three pokéballs back.

"Thanks, Professor." said Ash, picking up the three pokéballs.

Oak opened a drawer and took out a sheet of stickers "I'm going to put this star shaped sticker on the pokéball of your main Tauros." he explained "That way, should you choose to trade more of your Tauros away, I won't send this one over by accident."

"Good idea, Professor." said Ash "I'll call again if I want to trade some more."

Ash shut off the video phone and then led the way over to the trading machine.

Despite the lack of use on Ash's part, all of his Tauros were very strong. This was partly natural, but also due to all the stampeding around they did in the grounds surrounding Professor Oak's research lab, and each was strong enough to utilise the move Take Down, one of the strongest Normal type moves available, and so well worth the trade for many trainers.

Ash set the first pokéball onto the trading machine, and the first of the trio of trainers mirrored his actions. Both pokéballs were sucked up into the machine, and the screen displayed the silhouettes of the two Pokémon being traded, in this case, Tauros and Rhyhorn.

The machine released both pokéballs, and the two trainers picked them up and released their new Pokémon.

Ash said farewell to his Tauros, and the trainer left with it. Ash used his Pokédex to scan his new Rhyhorn.

_**Rhyhorn, the Spike Pokémon. Rhyhorn is known for its physical power and its considerable offensive and defensive skills.**_

Ash pushed a few more buttons and discovered his Pokémon's statistics.

**Rhyhorn. Level 55. Moves: Take Down, Rock Slide, Crunch, Earthquake.**

"Rhyoaar." the rock/ground type bellowed.

"Good to meet ya, Rhyhorn." said Ash "Welcome to the team."

"Rhyoaar." bellowed the Spike Pokémon once again before Ash recalled it to its pokéball.

He attached the pokéball to his belt and turned to the other two trainers "Who's next?"

Minutes later, the two trainers were leaving with their new Tauros, and Ash was examining the two powerful-looking Pokémon that stood before him.

_**Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon. It tunnels through the ground which shakes when it gives a thunderous roar.**_

_**Nidoqueen, the Drill Pokémon. Nidoqueen had thick skin covering its entire body protecting it from whatever techniques are used against it.**_

**Onix. Level 43. Moves: Rock Slide, Dig, Slam, Headbutt.**

**Nidoqueen. Level 47. Moves: Body Slam, Bite, Sludge Bomb, Fire Punch.**

"Wow, you two seem pretty good to me." Ash observed "Welcome to the team."

"Ooooorrrrh." acknowledged the Rock Snake Pokémon.

"Needoh!" added the Drill Pokémon.

"They certainly seem to be very strong." observed Brock.

"Yeah, I'd say my Onix is even bigger than yours, Brocko." observed Ash.

Brock laughed weakly.

"Well, well, well; if it isn't Ash. I thought I heard your voice."

The trio turned and saw another trainer coming towards them. It was Ash's long-time rival, Gary Oak, grandson of Professor Oak.

"Gary." exclaimed Ash "What're you doing here?"

"I heard there was a swap meet on, so I came to see what was about. I've already traded my Krabby for a Magby, and I traded my Kadabra and Machoke to evolve them before trading back. It's been very helpful. I still need to trade to evolve these three, though."

He opened three pokéballs to reveal a Graveler, a Seadra and a Scyther.

"So, Ash, I see you've got yourself an Onix. Fancy trading it for my Scyther? It holds a metal coat that means it'll evolve into a Scizor. I've got a spare one, so your Onix could evolve into a Steelix. We'd trade back right away, of course."

Ash thought for a moment, but then shook his head "No thanks, Gary. I think I'll get to know Onix as an Onix first."

"Fair enough." said Gary "An Onix is strong in its own right." he looked to Misty and Brock "How about you two? Either of you up for a trade?"

"Actually, I've got and Onix myself that I wouldn't mind evolving." said Brock.

Gary nodded "Alright then," he opened his back and took out a shining, silvery item "here's the metal coat." He handed it to Brock.

"Are you sure you want to give up your spare metal cloak so that I can evolve my Pokémon?" asked Brock

"Hey, the way I see it, you're doing me a favour. This trade will enable my Scyther to evolve into Scizor. It's only fair I return the favour and help your Onix evolve."

Brock gave a nod and took Onix's pokéball from his pocket and released it.

"Who about it, Onix, you up for evolving?" he asked.

Brock's Onix gave a look to Ash's Onix. Ash's was indeed larger.

Brock's Onix looked back to Brock and gave a nod. Brock hung the Metal Cloak around Onix's body and then recalled it to its pokéball. Both Brock and Gary stepped up to the trade machine and activated it.

The exchange was over quickly, and both trainers released the Pokémon from their pokéballs and watched as the two evolved; Onix into Steelix, Scyther into Scizor.

Gary took out his Pokédex and examined Steelix, before asking "Brock, did your Onix know Iron Tail?"

"No, it didn't." replied Brock, recalling Scizor to its pokéball.

"Well it does now." said Garry, returning Steelix to its pokéball.

As the pair traded their Pokémon back, two more trainers came running up to the group.

"Hey, are you the guy with the Tauros?" the male trainer asked Ash.

"Yeah, why?" asked Ash "You wanna trade?"

"Yeah," said the second trainer, a girl who was younger than him "My daddy works on a farm, and we need a Tauros, so he sent me here to see if I could get one. "

"Alright," said Ash "what do you want to trade for it?"

The girl took a pokéball from her pocket and opened it to reveal a black dog-like Pokémon.

"This is Houndour." explained the girl "Our two Houndoom that we have for security purposes had a couple of them. This is the strongest one."

"I'd go for it Ash." said Gary, who was examining his re-obtained Scizor with a Pokédex "I've got a Houndoom, and it's a good battler. They're a mix of fire and dark types. Hey, my Scizor leaned Metal Claw."

Ash thought for a moment, he did already have a fire type on his team in the form of Cyndaquil, and he could always recall his Charizard from the Charicific Valley. On the other hand though, he didn't have a dark type, and Houndour looked pretty tough.

"Sure, why not?" he said before turning to the other trainer "How about you?"

"I've got a Slowpoke that is holding a Kings Rock." said the male trainer, unleashing the pink-coloured Pokémon "That Kings Rock means it will evolve into a Slowking after being traded."

Ash thought about that. Slowpoke had a reputation for being, well, slow. Slowking, on the other hand… he remembered meeting one in the Orange Islands, during a potential catastrophe involving the legendary Pokémon Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and Lugia. Slowking seemed a bit more useful than Slowpoke, and it was a part Psychic type, and Ash didn't have one of those yet.

It sounded like an acceptable trade, but he had one question first.

"But if Slowpoke can only evolve into a Slowking through trading, won't you want it back?"

"No, I own a Slowking already." explained the trainer "And a Slowbro. I bred Slowpoke from them."

Ash gave a nod "Alright. Just give me a couple of minutes to switch my Pokémon around."

He recalled Onix and Nidoqueen to their pokéballs, and then set off for the Pokémon centre.

Meanwhile Gary turned back to Brock and Misty "Either of you two up for helping me evolve Graveler and Seadra?"

Both nodded and opened all of their pokéballs to let Gary choose what he wanted to trade for, though it didn't really matter as they'd trade back right away.

Along with Steelix, Brock had Geodude, Vulpix, Zubat and Pineco.

Misty had Staryu, Psyduck, Goldeen and Poliwag (she also had a Togepi, but there was no way what so ever that she would trade it away, even if only for a few moments).

Gary knelt and examined their Pokémon for a moment, before standing again.

"Brock, your Geodude's not far off from evolving into a Graveler, the same goes for your Poliwag Misty; it'll soon evolve into a Poliwhirl."

"It will?" asked Misty, looking down at her Poliwag.

Gary reached into his back and took out three items; two looked like sweets, and the last looked like a rock that was roughly in the shape of a crown.

"These two are rare candies." explained Gary, holding up the two sweets "They boost a Pokémon's strength and one each will probably be enough to get Geodude and Poliwag to evolve. Then if we give this Kings Rock to Poliwhirl and trade it, it'll evolve into a Politoed."

"I thought Poliwhirl evolved into Poliwrath." said Misty.

"It could do either." said Gary "It depends on your preference."

He took out his Pokédex and punched some buttons before showing it to Misty. The screen was split in half, one side showing a Poliwrath, and the other showing a Politoed. Misty thought Politoed looked a little less frightening than Poliwrath, and it would make in interesting addition to her team.

"Alright, let's evolve." she said.

Gary gave a nod before turning to Brock "How about you? Fancy trading Gravelers to evolve them into Golems?"

"I can't think of a reason why I shouldn't." said Brock.

Gary gave Poliwag and Geodude a rare candy each. Both Pokémon chewed them up and swallowed, before being taken over by the familiar glow that signalled the beginning of Pokémon evolution. Both grew larger, Geodude gained a second pair of arms and a pair of legs as Poliwag grew arms and lost its tail. The light faded and Poliwhirl and Graveler stood before them.

Gary placed the kings rock on Poliwhirl's head and Misty recalled it to its pokéball as Brock did the same with his Graveler.

Misty traded her Poliwhirl for Gary's Seadra and then they both watched as Poliwhirl became Politoed and Seadra became Kingdra. Then they changed back, and Brock and Gary exchanged Gravelers, watched them evolve into Golems and then traded back.

Meanwhile, Ash was speaking on the video phone to Professor Oak "So, Ash, what did you trade your three Tauros for?"

"I got three awesome Pokémon." said Ash "Rhyhorn, Onix and Nidoqueen."

"Ah, three ground types." said Oak "You've never had a ground type before, or a rock type for that matter, which both Rhyhorn and Onix also are. Both are very impressive Pokémon indeed. And a Nidoqueen? That's one of Gary's main Pokémon, you know?"

"Oh, yeah." said Ash, though in all honesty, he had forgotten that "Mine's different from Gary's through, and it knows some pretty cool moves, including Body Slam and Fire Punch."

"Ah, a surprise fire-type attack." said Oak sagely "That should catch a few opponents off guard, especially if they try and exploit Nidoqueen's vulnerability to ice types."

"I'm sure it will." said Ash "Anyway, can I send some more Pokémon over to you in exchange for two of my Tauros? I'm looking to get a Houndour and a Slowking."

"Sure thing Ash." said Oak "That's two more types you've never had before. All that'll be left will be steel, dragon and ghost, though you did temporarily own a Haunter."

"Yeah, sometimes I regret letting him go, and Primeape."

"I'll tell you what," said Oak "Why don't you send your entire current party over to me, and I'll send you six Tauros; that way you have four others on hand should anyone else want to trade."

"Sounds like a good idea," said Ash "but what about Pikachu? You know he hates going into his pokéball."

"Not a problem, just send Pikachu's pokéball over to me, and you'll still be able to carry the six Tauros. But maybe you should leave Pikachu with Brock or Misty, just to avoid questions."

"Right." said Ash. He looked at Pikachu, who was sitting on his shoulder "Go to Misty, buddy."

"Pika." said Pikachu with a nod before scampering off.

Ash sent Pikachu's pokéball over to Oak's lab, followed by the pokéballs containing new Rhyhorn, Nidoqueen, and Onix, along with the ones containing Chikorita and Cyndaquil.

Moments later, he exited the Pokémon centre with six Tauros locked in pokéballs on his belt, and he returned to the two awaiting trainers. A few minutes later, they had traded, and Ash was using his Pokédex to examine his two new Pokémon.

_**Houndour, the Dark Pokémon. Houndour travel in packs and communicate through barks in order to surround their prey.**_

**Houndour. Level 41. Moves: Flamethrower, Bite, Smog, Headbutt.**

_**Slowking, the Royal Pokémon. Slowking possesses great knowledge and inspiration, and are known for maintaining a level head in any circumstances**_

**Slowking. Level 49. Moves: Psychic, Headbutt, Water Gun, Ice Punch.**

Ash greeted the two Pokémon warmly, and both reacted happily to their new trainer.

"I understand that you have a herd of Tauros to trade?" asked a voice. Ash looked up and saw a stately looking older woman standing nearby.

"Uh, yeah." said Ash "I've got four on hand right now that could be traded.

"Excellent." said the woman "I'm a professional breeder, and four strong and healthy Tauros would serve me well, especially in the breeding of Miltank, Stantler and the Piloswine family. I trust that these four Pokémon are acceptable offers for trade?"

With that she opened four pokéballs and four of the five known evolutions of Eevee appeared; the water type Vaporeon, the electric type Jolteon, the fire type Flareon and the psychic type Espeon.

Misty's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at the sight of Vaporeon. As a trainer who specialised in water type Pokémon, a Vaporeon had great appeal to her.

She just had to ask "Excuse me, miss?" the older woman turned to look at her "If that Vaporeon is up for trade, I'd happy take you up on it."

The woman cast her eyes over Misty's Pokémon, but compared to a Tauros, none of Misty's Pokémon really stood out to her, given how, with the exception of Politoed, they were all unevolved.

"I'm sorry, but I have no interest in any of your Pokémon. Perhaps once I've traded it to your friend here, he'll have an exchange he's be willing to make."

In all honesty, none of Misty's Pokémon stood out much to Ash. Of the ones she had on hand, Politoed was probably the most desirable, but he didn't think she'd trade it. He had now desire to become the new owner of either Psyduck or Goldeen, but he might be tempted with Staryu, or better, the Starmie that currently resided with her sisters in the Cerulean City Gym.

Ash gladly made the trade, he knew that the evolved forms of Eevee were rare, and could be quite strong if trained right. Flareon would make a good extra fire type, Espeon a second psychic type, and Jolteon was useful in that he wouldn't have to rely solely on Pikachu for electric attacks.

Once the trade was made, Ash examined the four with his Pokédex.

_**Vaporeon, the Bubble Jet Pokémon. Vaporeon love fresh, clean water and can make their bodies melt away into water as well.**_

**Vaporeon. Level 52. Moves: Hydro Pump, Waterfall, Shadow Ball, Aurora Beam.**

_**Jolteon, the Lightning Pokémon. When angered or frightened, the hairs on Jolteon's body become like needles that are fired at is opponents. It absorbs charged atoms and can produce ten thousand volts of electricity.**_

**Jolteon. Level 48. Moves: Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Pin Missile, Quick Attack.**

_**Flareon, the flame Pokémon. The air it inhales is ignited by a flame in its body and expelled as fire. Its body can reach temperatures of over three thousand degrees.**_

**Flareon. Level 52. Moves: Flamethrower, Smog, Shadow Ball, Take Down.**

_**Espeon, the Sun Pokémon. Espeon are able to read air currents, allowing it to predict the future as well as its opponents' next moves.**_

**Espeon. Level 46. Moves: Psybeam, Mud-Slap, Protect, Iron Tail.**

Before he had much time to admire his new Pokémon further, however, Ash was accosted by Misty.

"Ash, I'll trade you anything for that Vaporeon. Except Togepi, of course."

Ash eyed her for a moment before saying "Alright. I'll take your Politoed."

"What? No way!"

"Fine then, contact your sisters and have them send your Starmie over."

"You can't have Starmie."

"Staryu, then."

"Nope."

"Psyduck, Goldeen, Horsea." he wanted none of them but he could see where this was going.

"No, no, and no way." replied Misty.

"Well, Misty, looks like you've run out of Pokémon." said Ash "And I'm not trading for air."

"Oh." grumbled Misty.

Gary came forward "Misty, why don't you go and catch a Pokémon to trade for Vaporeon?"

Misty instantly brightened at that idea "Now that's a plan." she said "Come on, Pikachu."

She ran off and Pikachu followed.

"Hey where are you going with my Pikachu?" Ash shouted after her.

"I'm going fishing for water Pokémon." Misty shouted back "And Pikachu will be useful for catching them."

Gary laughed and said "I've never known a Pokémon obey someone that wasn't its trainer quite like your Pikachu does Misty, Ash. But then again, the feelings of a trainer are often reflected by their Pokémon."

"Uh… what?" asked Ash, confused.

"Don't bother." muttered Brock to Gary "He's clueless."

"Gotcha." replied Gary.

Ash just stared at them blankly, for a few moments before a voice said "You're the Tauros guy, aren't you?"

He turned to see six trainers standing there, each one eager to trade.

/\/\/\/\/\

Misty found a pristine lake and took her fishing rod out of her bag.

"Here we go, Pikachu. Let's catch us a Pokémon. I'm sure my special lure will help."

"Pika, pika." agreed Pikachu as Misty cast the line out.

And then they waited…

And they waited some more…

And then they waited even longer…

And then…

"Hey, I got a bite." exclaimed Misty as she gave the line an almighty tug.

The hooked Pokémon flew out of the water and attacked with a powerful spray of water that drenched Pikachu.

"That's a Lanturn." exclaimed Misty, taking in the sight of the blue and yellow fish-like Pokémon.

"Alright Pikachu, use Thunderbolt." commanded Misty.

"_Pika-chuuuuuuuuu_!"

Pikachu's body crackled with electricity and he launched a powerful blast of it towards Lanturn, who copied the move and fired back with a Thunderbolt attack of its own. Both attacks met and exploded.

"Must be an electric type too." observed Misty. This meant that Pikachu was not at quite such an advantage as she had hoped, but he was still better than all of her own Pokémon, each of which would easily be fried by Lanturn's Thunderbolt.

"Alright then, Pikachu try your Quick Attack!"

Pikachu sprang forward and charged towards Lanturn at top speed.

"_Pika-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi."_

Lanturn surrounded itself in blue electricity and swam at high speed towards Pikachu.

It was a Spark attack.

Both Pokémon collided, but it was Pikachu that was thrown back. He rolled across the ground a couple of times before regaining his footing and standing on all fours.

Lanturn was already moving on its next attack. Its eyes glowed blue and a spiralling column of water shot up from the surface of the lake. Lanturn swam up this and then, with the water, shot down towards the ground, towards Pikachu.

It was a Waterfall attack.

"Pikachu, use Agility to dodge." shouted Misty.

Using his great speed, Pikachu sprang away, leaving Lanturn to strike the ground hard.

"Now use Thunder."

"_Pi-Ka-Chuuuuuuuuuuu!"_

A blast of electricity, far more powerful than the one he unleashed earlier left Pikachu's body and pummelled Lanturn, who took the full force of the attack before spitting out a Water Gun attack that sent Pikachu flipping head over tail.

"Thunder, again!" commanded Misty.

Another powerful blast of electricity left Pikachu's body and struck Lanturn. The attack ended, but Lanturn was left whimpering as crackles of electricity wracked through its body.

It was paralyzed.

"Now, Pikachu, wrap this up with a Quick Attack."

"_Pika-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi."_

Pikachu charged at Lanturn and rammed into the Light Pokémon at full speed, using as much strength as he could. The bigger Pokémon was sent soaring into the air.

Misty grabbed up the Fast Ball that had been given to her by Kurt and threw it. Lanturn vanished inside and was caught.

Misty picked up the Fast Ball and turned to Pikachu.

"We should do this more often, Pikachu. We make a good team."

"Pika, pika." agreed Pikachu

The two turned and headed back to the Swap Meet, where they found Ash scanning is six newest Pokémon.

Hitmontop, Stantler, Sandslash and Raticate Misty could understand, but the last two…

"Uh, Ash? Jumpluff and Furret?"

"What?" asked Ash, defensively "They're good. Jumpluff knows Solar Beam and Furret knows Double-Edge. See for yourself."

He held out his Pokédex and Misty took it to scan his Pokémon.

_**Jumpluff, the Cottonweed Pokémon. Jumpluff catches a simmer of wind to spread its cotton-like spores and make offspring.**_

**Jumpluff. Level 47. Moves: Solar Beam, Giga Drain, Double-Edge, Stun Spore.**

_**Furret, the Long Body Pokémon. Furret makes a nest to suit its long and skinny body. The nest is impossible for other Pokémon to enter.**_

**Furret. Level 45. Moves: Double-Edge, Fury Cutter, Dig, Shadow Ball.**

_**Sandslash, the Mouse Pokémon. When it runs at full speed, it sends up a **__**thick cloud of sand**__** in order to **__**hide itself**__**.**_

**Sandslash. Level 53. Moves: Metal Claw, Rollout, Sandstorm, Dig.**

_**Raticate, the Mouse Pokémon. Raticate will g**__**naw on anything with its tough fangs. It can even topple concrete buildings by gnawing on them**_

**Raticate. Level 49. Moves: Hyper Fang, Flame Wheel, Iron Tail, Thunder.**

_**Stantler, the Big Horn Pokémon. The eye-like shape at the base of its horn produces a pleasant odour and has a bewildering effect on anyone who smells it. Stantler form herds, and live in mountainous terrain.**_

**Stantler. Level 51. Moves: Take Down, Confuse Ray, Earthquake, Psychic.**

_**Hitmontop, the Handstand Pokémon. Hitmontop's smooth graceful **__**kicks**__** are deceptively powerful. Opponents may be surprised by their force, so beware.**_

**Hitmontop. Level 49. Moves: Triple Kick, Detect, Dig, Mach Punch.**

Misty had to hand it to Ash; those Pokémon actually did seem quite good to her.

"I found a Pokémon to trade for Vaporeon." she declared.

"Great, what did you get?" asked Ash.

"A Lanturn." replied Misty, opening up the Fast Ball and letting Lanturn out.

Ash scanned it with his Pokédex.

_**Lanturn, the Light Pokémon. The light that emits from its tentacle-like limb shines bright enough to **__**illuminate**__** the bottom of a deep sea.**_

**Lanturn. Level 32. Moves: Water Gun, Thunderbolt, Spark, Waterfall.**

"Hey a Pokémon that's both a water type and an electric type." said Ash "Okay, Misty. We can trade. I'll go and get Vaporeon back from Professor Oak."

When Ash had returned, he and Misty headed towards the trade machine.

Misty took Lanturn's pokéball and was about to place in in the slot when a thought occurred to her: _this was probably her only chance to own an electric type._

"What's the matter, Misty?" Ash asked "Don't you want to trade?"

She put Lanturn's ball into her pocket and shook her head "No, I think I'll keep Lanturn. I'll find something else."

And with that she hurried off, Pikachu once again in hot pursuit.

She rushed into the Pokémon centre where she used the video phone to arrange for Professor Oak to take care of her Psyduck, Staryu, Lanturn, Politoed and Goldeen temporarily, and then she ran back to the lake where she cast her rod back into the water.

Ash arranged for six more Tauros to be sent over and then headed back to where Brock and Gary were both waiting by the trade machine.

There was already a line forming.

Minutes later, Ash was in possession of six new Pokémon;

A level 56 Magneton that knew Zap Cannon, Lock-On, Sonic Boom and Swift;

A level 55 Venomoth that knew Psychic, Stun Spore, Gust and Double Team;

A level 44 Tangela that knew Vine Whip, Mega Drain, Confusion and Slam;

A level 40 Aipom that knew Swift, Double Team, Dynamic Punch and Shadow Ball;

A level 59 Dewgong that knew Ice Beam, Waterfall, Take Down and Whirlpool;

And level 43 Poliwrath that knew Submission, Body Slam, Ice Punch and Water Gun.

Ash thought that that was a pretty good group of Pokémon. Magneton meant that he now had his first steel type Pokémon and he'd wanted an Aipom ever since he first saw one.

He hoped Misty didn't catch a Dewgong or Poliwrath in hopes of trading with him, though.

Ash returned to the Pokémon centre where he sent his new Pokémon to Professor Oak, and then collected six more Tauros.

Six trades later, and Ash was the possessor of yet another six new Pokémon;

A level 57 Parasect that knew Giga Drain, Spore, Slash and Sludge Bomb;

A level 40 Ampharos that knew ThunderPunch, Thunderbolt, Iron Tail and Headbutt;

A level 36 Gligar that knew Quick Attack, Slash, Razor Wind and Iron Tail;

A level 30 Drowzee that knew Confusion, Disable, Headbutt and ThunderPunch

A level 47 Kangaskhan that knew Dizzy Punch, Earthquake, Flamethrower and Endure;

And a level 45 Primeape that knew Cross Chop, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch and Seismic Toss.

Ash thought that all of these were pretty cool additions to his team, and the Primeape made up for the one he gave away.

Misty, meanwhile, was getting a little frustrated; yes she had caught several Pokémon now, but the problem was she had caught nothing that she could bring herself to trade for Ash's Vaporeon. Following her capture of Lanturn, Pikachu had helped her catch two more Pokémon: a Mantine that knew BubbleBeam, Take Down, Supersonic and Icy Wind, and an Azumarill that knew Water Gun, BubbleBeam, Rollout and Ice Punch.

Following the capture of those two, she had hooked a Quagsire. Being a part ground type, Pikachu's electric attacks had had no effect against it, so she had used Azumarill to catch it. The Quagsire knew the moves Whirlpool, Earthquake, Slam and Ice Punch. After that she had gone back to Pikachu in order to catch a Qwilfish that knew Water Gun, Spikes, Pin Missile and Harden, and a Slowbro that knew Confusion, Headbutt, Dynamic Punch and Water Gun.

With all her open slots full, Misty had returned to the Pokémon centre and sent her knew captures to Professor Oak before returning to the lake to see if she could capture anything else.

She just missed Ash, who entered the Pokémon centre just moments after her to put his six newest Pokémon into storage, before obtaining the last two Tauros he was willing to trade, as well as Vaporeon.

On his way back, he heard a disturbance and went to find out what was going on. He was not surprised to find that Team Rocket was behind the commotion; having apparently set up a fake trading machine in order to steal trainers Pokémon.

Several trainers used their fire and electric type Pokémon to destroy the fake machine. When it blew up, Jessie was flung against a real trading machine.

James sent out his Victreebel to attack, and Jessie sent out her Lickitung, though for some reason a Wobbuffet came out of the Pokéball.

Ash unleashed his two Tauros and a joint Take Down later sent the group of Pokémon thieves flying.

This, of course, generated a lot more attention in Ash's Tauros, and he received many offers for trading.

Two he was very happy to accept: a level 48 Pupitar that knew Rock Slide, Sandstorm, Outrage and Protect, and a level 51 Dragonair that knew Dragonbreath, Twister, Protect and Iron Tail.

"Well, that's the last one." said Ash, pocketing Dragonair's pokéball "I wonder where Misty is."

Misty was making her way back from the lake. It was getting dark, and she had caught two more Pokémon: a Tentacruel that knew Hydro Pump, Wrap, Supersonic and Acid, and an Octillery that knew Octazooka, Constrict, Psybeam and BubbleBeam.

She had caught eight very good water type Pokémon, the ownership and training of which would greatly improve her credibility as a water-type specialist, but she still had nothing that she would willingly trade to Ash for his Vaporeon.

Sad at that thought, she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings, which is why the spooky Pokémon was able to creep up on her.

Ash waved goodbye to Benny, who had successfully traded his Wobbuffet for a Lickitung (it never occurred to Ash to put two and two together), and then turned towards the path that led to the lake where Misty had been catching water type Pokémon all afternoon.

Misty came running up the path, a pokéball clutched triumphantly in her hand, and Pikachu running alongside her.

"I hope you've got Vaporeon handy, 'cause I got the perfect Pokémon to trade for it."

When she got to Ash, she opened the pokéball to reveal her final capture of the day: a Haunter.

Ash had kind-of, sort-of owned a Haunter once before but had given it away. He was more than happy to exchange Vaporeon for one though.

As an added surprise, however, once the trade was complete, Haunter evolved into a Gengar. Ash thought it was brilliant and examined it with his Pokédex.

_**Gengar, the Shadow Pokémon. Gengar is the final evolved form of **__**Gastly**__**. It can absorb any surrounding heat, leaving a sudden chill.**_

**Gengar. Level 39. Moves: Shadow Ball, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Thunderbolt.**

"Awesome" said Ash, pocketing his Pokédex "That was a good find, Misty."

"Thanks." she replied "So, what else did you get?"

Ash opened two pokéballs and revealed the last two Pokémon he had gotten for his Tauros.

Misty's eyes went wide at the sight of Dragonair. It might not technically be a water type, but it was close enough for her.

She turned and ran.

"Where are you going?" Brock shouted after her.

"To find a Pokémon to trade for that Dragonair." she shouted back.

Ash suddenly gave chase, shouting "Unless it's a Dragonite, there's nothing you can catch that I'll trade Dragonair for."

Brock and Gary exchanged looks.

"Well, see ya." said Brock.

"Yup." replied Gary before Brock sped off after the other two.

"Hey, guys, wait up."

/\/\/\/\/\

**A/N: So what do you think? I know some of you might be confused about some of my choices, and some of their moves, but there are five reasons behind them:**

**1 This takes place during generation two. As much as I'd like to see Ash own a Luxio, Gallade or Salamence, they just did not exist back then, so I decided to keep it all within the time frame.**

**2 I tried to make sure that he got Pokémon that I personally could see him owning. As awesome as they are (or were back then) I cannot see Ash owning a Scizor or Alakazam (though oddly I can see him owning a Salamence, as mentioned above. Probably due to its similarities to Charizard).**

**3 I decided to make sure that Ash has at least one Pokémon of each type; I gave him Magneton, Rhyhorn, Espeon, Slowking and Houndour because they were the ones of their respective types available at the time that I thought that Ash would most likely use.**

**4 I tried to give him Pokémon not owned by friends and rivals. Granted Gary owns a Nidoqueen and Brock an Onix, but they were the Pokémon that were offered to him in this episode, and I decided not to change that. Granted there are one or two the same, of the pre-evolved forms of the Pokémon some of his friends have, but I think it worked.**

**5 I looked at the Pokémon he does have and tried to give him alternatives. For example in the Advance Series, the only starter he obtains is Treecko. Instead of Torchic and Mudkip, he catches Torkoal and Corphish. So I looked at it like this; what if Ash only had Squirtle? What would his fire type and grass type have been? Though a process of elimination due to the reasons above, from the fire type I eliminated Arcanine, Magmar and Ninetales, leaving a choice between Rapidash and Flareon, with Flareon seeming the most likely option. Similarly I was able to eliminate Victreebel as a grass option, due to James owning it, and that left Vileplume, Exeggutor and Tangela. Of them Tangela seemed the most likely option (to me Gary has an Exeggutor, whether it has been revealed or not, as he owns Blastoise and Arcanine, and I think May was more than likely the one to train a member of the Oddish family, though more likely it would be a Bellossom).**

**Anyway, that was my story. If you'd like to use the idea to write your own version, feel free.**


	2. Author's Message

Author's Note.

Hello to everyone who favourited this story, I hope you enjoyed it.

This is just a little announcement to say that, due to the positive reception of this story, I have decided to go for a more ambitious project.

It is a new Pokémon story that will be my attempt to rewrite the Anime series, beginning with the Original Series (The Kanto Arc). It will feature familiar characters (Ash, Misty, Brock, Gary etc.) familiar Pokémon (Pikachu, Charizard, Squirtle, Psyduck, Onix etc.) familiar places and familiar storylines. However there will be additions; new rivals, new captures, new evolutions, new friends and new adventures.

Each chapter will be considered an episode and some (like the first one) will vary only slightly in their plot. Others will be completely new. Also, Ash will have to actually battle the Gym Leader if he wants to get the badge, and there will be a little less Jessie and James constantly interrupting everything.

The link can obviously be found on my profile; check it out. Hopefully you will enjoy it.


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